Fall Harvest Chutney
What to do with those green tomatoes, summer apples and pears going soft? Chutney is the perfect condiment tying together the loose ends of a summer garden heading into fall...
This is a basic chutney recipe. It is flexible in that you can use whatever the garden has to offer and still end up with a delicious condiment for winter eating.
The raw materials are simply chopped, tossed into a heavy kettle and cooked until translucent...voila' a delicious sweet-tart addition to a light lunch or dessert cheese board is born!
Fall Harvest Chutney ala RavenCroft Garden
Ingredients
16 ounces vinegar...Apple cider vinegar in this batch
10 ounces any kind of sugar...I used piloncillo, dehydrated sugar cane juice from the local tienda
1 pound apples, diced
1 pound onions, diced
2 pounds any other fruit or vegetable, diced...I used green tomatoes and pears...
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 fresh orange skin, juice & pulp, minced
1/2 fresh lemon, juice only
8 ounces raisins or other dried fruit...I had currants so in they went. You could also use fresh, dried or frozen elderberries, aronia berries, etc. you may have on hand
1 tablespoon salt
Spices...I used 1 tsp each toasted cumin + coriander + black mustard seed + a knuckle of fresh ginger
Yield: 5 - 1/2 pints and 3 - 1/4 pints. This will vary as you adjust the quantities to what you have on hand...Perfect for enjoying at your table or giving as gifts!
Process
Put vinegar and sugar in a heavy kettle on medium heat, stir to melt the sugar. Add onions, garlic, green tomatoes and raisins. Cook until vegetables are translucent. Add fruit, continue to cook until soft and translucent. Add salt & spices, simmer until mixture reaches a jam like consistency. Ladle into hot canning jars, put on lids and rings, water bath 15 minutes to seal jars.
Enjoy with...
Cured Meats
Roasts, wild fowl, duck, goose
Cheese & crackers
Indian food
Scones & sandwiches
Bringing nature's bounty into the kitchen is one of the pleasures of having a garden, farmer's market or CSA share in your life. What do you do with surplus fall produce?
